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The story
Japan’s eight major automakers released their global sales figures for the first half of fiscal 2026 (April–September), and Suzuki — which ranked fourth in the same period last year — grew about 20% to pass Honda and Nissan and climb into second place. Toyota’s China sales fell 25.1%, marking its first first-half decline in two years, while Honda’s China sales dropped 48.1% and Nissan’s fell 45.5%, continuing their slump. On 5ch, some pointed out that “it’s not that Suzuki grew, it’s that Honda and Nissan fell,” while others attributed Suzuki’s strength to kei cars (Japan’s compact minicars) and the Indian market, and the discussion also turned to the intensity of the EV shift and price war (“neijuan,” a Chinese term for cutthroat internal competition) in China.
Japan’s eight major automakers announced their global sales figures for the first half of fiscal 2026 (April to September) on the 29th. Weak performance in the Chinese market, among other factors, caused four of the companies to post year-on-year declines. Suzuki, which had the fourth-largest sales volume in the same period a year earlier, grew by about 20% and climbed to second place, passing Honda and Nissan.
Toyota Motor (including Lexus) sold 5.059 million vehicles, down 4.0% year-on-year — its first first-half decline in two years. It grew in North America, where demand for hybrids (HVs) remains strong, as well as in Europe and Japan, but China sales dropped 25.1%.
In China, the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is intensifying competition with new manufacturers, and on top of that the overall new-car market is cooling. Local sales continued to slump, with Honda down 48.1% and Nissan down 45.5%, and global sales for both companies fell for a third consecutive year.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
The Alto, I guess
(^。^)y-.。o○
Pretty much a kei-car (Japanese minicar) specialist
My own ride's a 2024 Swift Sport, manual, by the way.
Isn't the Hustler popular too?
are Suzuki and Daihatsu.
Let's all just ignore manual-transmission drivers — weirdos who don't even make up 1% of the market.
Re: #49
Suzuki's gotten pretty full of itself, considering it used to beg Daihatsu for engines because it couldn't clear emissions regulations on its own.
Re: #118
If we get real innovation in rotary or 2-stroke tech out of this, I'm all for it.
Maybe so. I'm an old geezer who only wants to drive manual, so the Hustler's a no-go for me though.
The Hustler comes in manual too, so go buy one already, old man.
Don't have that kind of money, so no can do.
My car history:
Suzuki Jimny
Nissan Primera (UK-built)
Suzuki Swift Sport (31)
Suzuki Ignis
Suzuki Swift Sport (33)
I think it's about time they sold the company.
and more accurate to say Honda and Nissan fell back.
Are you talking about my hairline!? (the words for "overtook" and "fell back" above also describe a receding hairline in Japanese — that's the joke)
It's such a good car.
It's because the current model just looks uncool.
Japanese cars are basically done for lol
Japanese car production in China down to under 40% of its peak — Honda down 90% as the gasoline car market shrinks [Flea Market★ (news-bot's posting name)]
https://asahi.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/newsplus/1793271522/
"In China, the shift to EVs is intensifying competition with new manufacturers, and on top of that the overall new-car market is cooling off."
Did you even read post #1?
This is just the usual neijuan (China's cutthroat internal price-war competition) at work.
Chinese automakers aren't just competing fiercely on EVs (electric vehicles) — they're currently waging the world's most intense development and announcement race on improving thermal efficiency for gasoline engines too, especially for hybrids and PHEVs.
People tend to assume "China = all-in on EVs," but manufacturers are actually shifting toward squeezing internal combustion efficiency to the absolute limit, both to serve the vast areas of China that still lack charging infrastructure and to expand exports to global markets.
That's actually a pretty fatal flaw.
No doubt about it, the paint on their kei vans is paper-thin.
Rusts easily.
Every other maker is trash.
There's another infected one.
Though I say that as one of the infected myself. (slang for a diehard brand fanatic)
Suzuki's good when it comes to bikes.
But even that motorcycle business is lagging on electrification in Southeast Asia, its bread-and-butter market, where local upstart electric-bike makers are selling like crazy.
Who knows what happens from here.
Sounds like EV tuk-tuks are all over the roads in Thailand lol
With that president in charge, forget a turnaround — the company's more likely to collapse.
That's the mystery of it —
you'd think they'd have the name recognition and brand power from F1 and motorcycles.
They're dead last among Japanese makers, right?
People have said they're so US-focused that Honda should just move its headquarters to America.
Honda's hated in F1, isn't it.
The all-new Elgrand, which just got a full model change (FMC), has already sold over 10,000 units, the facelifted (MC) Fairlady Z is selling well too — you see them around town — and a new Skyline is coming next year.
Nissan's riding high because its high-margin models are selling.
I don't see a future where the Elgrand keeps selling steadily, though?
Nissan's global sales are down over 10% though.
Nissan cars are only selling in Japan.
Guys driving the Z — so jealous, how dare they. ("裏山" is 5ch slang, a scrambled reading of "urayamashii," meaning jealous)
EU+EFTA+UK Jan–Sep 2026 registration figures for Asian makers
Hyundai 770,795 (-3.4%) ← South Korea
Toyota 705,004 (+0.5%)
Geely 343,875 (+14.5%) ← China
BYD 283,997 (+134.6%) ← China
SAIC 272,521 (+20.3%) ← China
Chery 260,650 (+255.9%) ← China
Nissan 205,387 (-10.5%)
Suzuki 132,684 (-0.4%)
Mazda 132,090 (+14.1%)
Leapmotor 87,922 (+424.2%) ← China
Honda 58,961 (+3.7%)
Mitsubishi 23,701 (-34.1%)
Oh, looks like they're beating Mitsubishi this year!
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
The main reason Suzuki climbed to second place is that it was barely affected by the sharp contraction of the Chinese market. In China, the shift to EVs and the price war among new manufacturers (the so-called “neijuan,” or cutthroat internal competition) is fierce, and Honda’s China sales plunged 48.1% while Nissan’s fell 45.5%. Suzuki, by contrast, draws its strength from kei cars and the Indian market (via Maruti Suzuki), and its low dependence on China makes it less vulnerable. The thread was split on whether to call it “Suzuki grew” or “Honda and Nissan fell,” but going by the first-half numbers, both are true — the ranking shift is the result of Suzuki’s roughly 20% sales growth happening at the same time as Honda and Nissan’s slump in China. European market data (post #140) shows a similar picture: Chinese and Korean makers like Hyundai, BYD, Geely, and Chery are growing their numbers while Japanese makers as a whole struggle. It’s easy to overlook that Suzuki’s “second place” is purely a ranking by global sales volume, and is a separate matter from its actual competitiveness in any individual region.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “Suzuki Passes Honda and Nissan to Take Second Place — FY2026 First-Half Global Car Sales.”
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